I want to go back to Corfu.

TRAVEL- So, Thursday morning we departed for Corfu, Greece. Now, it's an Extremely long process to get to Corfu But Completely worth it. It Was by far the BEST weekend yet. So, we boarded the bus at 9am and Florence Took about 4 and a half hour bus ride to the eastern coast of Italy to the port of Ancona Where We then boarded Our cruise ship to Igoumenitsa, Greece. We finally departed at 4:30 pm Were read and to embark on the 14 hour cruise. Our roommates Went to Greece last weekend and Said That the 40 euros for a cabin upgrade WAS Probably one of the best Investments They HAD made. So, We Were One Of The Few Lucky Ones Who Had a cabin Which WAS Basically just a room in the lower part of the bed But It contained 2 bunk beds and a bathroom. It Was Just Really Nice to Have a legit bed and pillow and blanket to lay down on. The cruise ship packed Because WAS sooo many Greeks Were going to Greece for the Easter holiday weekend and the cruise ship overbooked Did not even know most people Have a seat on the boat and HAD to resort to hallways and the floor. We got dinner on the cruise ship, Walked around for awhile But I know we were so Exhausted Decided to head to bed early. Although, I did not really get the best sleep Because It Was SOOO HOT! We Kept waking up and HAVING to open the door Because There Was no air circulation. We Sept. Our alarms But We Did not really need to Because We Were awoken by a pounding on the door and were so confused Because time HAD jumped ahead one hour. The pounding on the door WAS Followed by then it opened and Being Being flipped the light on to wake us up as Were Only about an hour away from the port in Igoumenitsa. We finally docked and it Was a mad dash to catch Our next ferry to the actual island of Corfu. We Were Told It Was an 8 minute walk But It was really more like 25 minutes to catch the next ferry. We traveled with Euroadventures (our tour group) and we Where the only group to make the 9:30 ferry. The other two groups HAD to wait until 11:15. Euroadventures is on Top of Their Game and literally He Was Yelling at me and Emily to run to get on the ferry and as soon as we got on, we Looked Back and We Were Already moving, leaving behind the other two groups. There Was This weekend about 500 students from Rome, Florence, Barcelona and going to Greece. We then Took a 1 hour and 45 minute ferry to Corfu and then you guessed it, we boarded buses for Another 20-minute ride to The Opposite Side Of The Island to The Pink Palace WHERE WAS Awaiting us. So, all and all, the total travel time on the way There Was about 27 hours Because we Arrived at the Pink Palace around noon time.

THE PINK PALACE- Literally EVERYTHING is PINK. I love the Pink Palace as pink is my favorite color. All the buildings are pink, it looks kind of like Barbie World. They even Have a PINK boat. Although there is a couple buildings are white That Which Is One of the ones we stayed in and I Was disappointed at first But Once I saw the view from our balcony Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, I Was No longer complaining. Once we checked in, we QUICKLY changed and headed down to the beach. Acted like complete idiots there we laid out an on the beach for 4 hours with no sunscreen on or anything. And the sun WAS intense! There Was not a cloud in the sky. WORST mistake ever (WE were so sunburned!) And for the next 3 days we suffered. The next day, we finally Decided to buy Some type of sunscreen But It Was soo expensive, like $ 20 dollars or more for a tiny little bottle. By That point though, all the damage HAD Already Been Done. After spending a relaxing afternoon at the beach, we really needed to shower and get ready for That Evening's Toga Party!

THE TOGA PARTY- So Basically, the Pink Palace Holds a Toga Party For Each new tour group Arrives That Which MEANS That Could Potentially Be A Few toga parties there a week. What you do is buy a Pink Sheet for 12 euros (you and when to return it, you get 10 euros back). You have to turn That pink sheet into a toga, Which let me tell you is quite Difficult But so much fun. The sheet is satin and I know it is Rather Difficult Our roommates warned us last week to bring safety pins, etc. .. wb Emily WAS Determined to do it with no assistance although we did end up using a couple Because It Was Rather difficult. Also used in the belt to help keep the robe on as well. Everybody shows up in togas for tea party (even tea guys!) We Had Some guys to help out as They Were Rather Clueless When It Came to creating a toga. Although, it's a lot Easier for Them as They Do not Have to cover up as much as we girls did. Everyone headed down for dinner at The Pink Palace Paladium Which is like the majors' main dining hall upstairs and a downstairs bar and club. The dinner was amazing and so much fun Because It Was a room full of PINK with everyone dressed up in togas Their. We got soup, salad, bread, and a main meal. Probably one of the best meals ever! After dinner, we headed downstairs Began Where the real party. We danced the night away in Our pink togas, It Was Probably one of the best nights yet! There Was Like an intermission performance Thing Which included two Greek Dancing, Ouzo rounds of shots for everyone, and plate smashing (They smash on the floor and over people's heads ... I'm not sure Exactly The Meaning behind it But It Was funny although I Could not work up the nerve to Have a plate smashed over my head). It Was a late, late night and we HAD to wake up REALLY EARLY the next morning.

ATVing- Our tour leader Told us to wake up at 6:30 am and be down at reception by 6:45 if we wanted a chance of signing up for the Activities That the Pink Palace offers (sign up and doesn't even begin until 8am) . So, we literally Ourselves Practically Forced out of bed and rolled down the hill to sign Up Where We Found Out That reception doesn't open until 7 so we sat outside and Waited. Then We Waited, Waited, and Waited some more inside until 8am When We Were Able to finally get in line to sign up. We signed up for the Quad Safari and were so happy we got up early to get in line Because There Is a very limited amount of spots and not everyone gets to go, There Were definitely in line Who Were people disappointed. We were lucky enough though and Were Able to Our reserve spots. We then HAD A Few hours to kill before the safari Began know we headed down to the beach to grab Which Some breakfast consisted of eggs, ham, cheese, and bread. Were we then geared and ready to get going on Our safari. You can rent your own ATV But we really wanted to do the safari Because The guides take you out to the best spots all over the island and You Do not Have to worry about looking at a map or getting lost. So, we headed out and It Was sooooooooooooooo much FUN! I Have never drove an ATV before and even though it WAS a small 50 cc one, It Was Such a blast. Probably one of the best days ever. Could we go as slow or as fast as we wanted, We Were Taken to beautiful beaches and amazing view points Overlooking the sea and island. In Greece, you're allowed to drive ATV's on the road I know it's Completely normal. At first, I Was like afraid to drive on the road But it's a quick and easy way to get around the island. We got to drive like on a major road and go as fast as we wanted Which WAS Sadly only 50km an hour But off-roading WAS the best. The first time we did it WAS kind of scary, But then I got more comfortable on the ATV and all I wanted to WAS off-road. We Went uphill and downhill, on cliffs, over rocks, through Ditches. 5 hours later after a lunch break and stopping to fill up for gas, WHERE we back at the Pink Palace for dinner and although That Was not Ready For A Few more hours, I know we Decided to get ice cream to hold us over! :) We showered and got ready for dinner and Another amazing Another great night at the club. Luckily, We Were Able To Sleep in a little bit The next morning, and Were Able to relax and enjoy Our last day at the Pink Palace. Although, They forced us to get back on the buses at 5pm. I never wanted to leave, I Seriously Considered Not Getting back on the boat and just staying at the Pink Palace and Hoping They Would give me a job and then I Never Would Have to leave. THE JOURNEY HOME- I know the journey home WAS Supposed To Be The Same as the journey to Corfu But It Took just a little bit longer (well, Actually a lot Longer). So, We All Took the bus back to the port in Corfu, we all got on the ferry back to the mainland of Greece, and we all got on the cruise ship and headed back to Italy even though the ship WAS like an hour late picking WHERE us know we up Already off to a late start. The cruise ship WAS fun though, we Decided not to go to sleep early and stayed up, drank Some wine out on the deck, and hung out with Some really cool people. We finally made it to bed But Were A Few hours later awoken by the heavy rocking of the boat as we WHERE going through a storm and the water was really rough. I Walked around the boat for a bit in order to settle my stomach and WAS Able to Fall Asleep For A Few more hours. Then, we are about 40 minutes from land When we find out That We Are not going to dock for 2 more hours Because there's too much fog or something and we can not dock. The boat was really rocking now though Because They Turned off the engines and WHERE we just sitting and waiting to dock. We finally did though 2 hours later and then boarded the bus to head back to Florence, we Figuring Would Be Back Within A Few Hours But It Was holiday (Easter Monday) and in Canada Therefore There Was soooo much traffic. A drive That was Supposed to take about 3 and half hours ended up Taking 7. But by 9:30, we finally WHERE back in Florence. Although, we are sitting here reminiscing about Greece and the Pink Palace and are crying about how much we just want to go back. Oh well ... we can not have fun all the time. Although, we're only here for a Few days and I only have 2 classes for the Entire week and we're off again on Friday to Turin & Cinque Terre for the weekend I know I Should not be complaining. Although I think I Should thinking about writing my final papers. And I just changed my flight too Officially I'll be coming home on May 18th? :)